Local local politics

Over the hills in Tameside some people are not happy. In Audenshaw, where my parents live, many residents were so fed up with the council intent on paving over any green space available in the name of development, that the entire ward turned Lib Dem. Unfortunately this is just 3 Lib Dems, with hardly more Tories against almost an entire council of Labour councilors.

As per national instructions of a few years ago Tameside council has been streamlined to a cabinet with several local assemblies. Audenshaw has been lumped together with Denton to form the Denton and Audenshaw district assembly. And according to my father’s experience things have got a bit childish.

Denton is, in terms of council wards at least, three times larger than Audenshaw. Denton is represented by 9 Labour councilors, Audenshaw by 3 Lib Dems. The mentality of the Labour councilors is such that they will automatically vote against anything that the Lib Dem councilors support, no matter how sensible. If there is any issue relating solely to Audenshaw, the Elected representatives for Audenshaw are outnumbered, and so the affairs of Audenshaw are in the hands of the electorate of Denton.

It seems that the Labour councilors of Denton are trying to punish the residents of Audenshaw for having the temerity of voting for a party other than Labour.